Nasser et l’exode des Sépharades d’Égypte

Cet article se propose d’analyser, dans une perspective proche de la micro-histoire de Carlo Ginzburg, un corpus de quatre romans de langues différentes (italien, espagnol, anglais et français) tous centrés sur l’exil forcé de quatre familles séfarades de l’Egypte de Nasser. En raison de son ancrage dans l’histoire factuelle, de son polyglottisme et de la thématique d’inspiration vétérotestamentaire (l’exode) qui sert de toile de fond aux quatre histoires racontées, le corpus constitue un microcosme littéraire d’une sensibilité et d’une grâce peu communes.Quest’articolo si propone, nell'ottica della microstoria di ispirazione ginzburghiana, di trattare un corpus di quattro opere romanzesche di lingua diversa (italiano, spagnolo, inglese, francese), tutte e quattro incentrate sull'esilio forzato di quattro famiglie sefardite dall'Egitto di Nasser. In virtù dello stretto legame con la storia fattuale, del poliglottismo e della tematica d’ispirazione veterotestamentaria (l'esodo) che fa da sfondo alle quattro vicende raccontate, il corpus rappresenta un microcosmo letterario di una sensibilità e di una grazia fuori dal comune

Treebar Maps: Schematic Representation of Networks at Scale

Many data sets, crucial for today's applications, consist essentially of enormous networks, containing millions or even billions of elements. Having the possibility of visualizing such networks is of paramount importance. We propose an algorithmic framework and a visual metaphor, dubbed treebar map, to provide schematic representations of huge networks. Our goal is to convey the main features of the network's inner structure in a straightforward, two-dimensional, one-page drawing. This drawing effectively captures the essential quantitative information about the network's main components. Our experiments show that we are able to create such representations in a few hundreds of seconds. We demonstrate the metaphor's efficacy through visual examination of extensive graphs, highlighting how their diverse structures are instantly comprehensible via their representations.Comment: 27 pages, 32 figures, 1 tabl

Growth and Physical Structure of Amorphous Boron Carbide Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering on a Silicon Substrate with a Titanium Interlayer

Multilayer amorphous boron carbide coatings were produced by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates. To improve the adhesion, titanium interlayers with different thickness were interposed between the substrate and the coating. Above three hundreds nanometer, the enhanced roughness of the titanium led to the growth of an amorphous boron carbide with a dense and continuing columnar structure, and no delamination effect was observed. Correspondingly, the adhesion of the coating became three time stronger than in the case of a bare silicon substrate. Physical structure and microstructural proprieties of the coatings were investigated by means of a scan electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The adhesion of the films was measured by a scratch tester

Growth and Physical Structure of Amorphous Boron Carbide Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering on a Silicon Substrate with a Titanium Interlayer

Multilayer amorphous boron carbide coatings were produced by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates. To improve the adhesion, titanium interlayers with different thickness were interposed between the substrate and the coating. Above three hundreds nanometer, the enhanced roughness of the titanium led to the growth of an amorphous boron carbide with a dense and continuing columnar structure, and no delamination effect was observed. Correspondingly, the adhesion of the coating became three time stronger than in the case of a bare silicon substrate. Physical structure and microstructural proprieties of the coatings were investigated by means of a scan electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The adhesion of the films was measured by a scratch tester

Learning new physics efficiently with nonparametric methods

We present a machine learning approach for model-independent new physics searches. The corresponding algorithm is powered by recent large-scale implementations of kernel methods, nonparametric learning algorithms that can approximate any continuous function given enough data. Based on the original proposal by D'Agnolo and Wulzer (arXiv:1806.02350), the model evaluates the compatibility between experimental data and a reference model, by implementing a hypothesis testing procedure based on the likelihood ratio. Model-independence is enforced by avoiding any prior assumption about the presence or shape of new physics components in the measurements. We show that our approach has dramatic advantages compared to neural network implementations in terms of training times and computational resources, while maintaining comparable performances. In particular, we conduct our tests on higher dimensional datasets, a step forward with respect to previous studies.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figure

The rapid FEV(1) decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with predominant emphysema: a longitudinal study.

Early identification of patients with COPD and prone to more rapid decline in lung function is of particular interest from both a prognostic and therapeutic point of view. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical, functional and imaging characteristics associated with the rapid FEV(1) decline in COPD.Between 2001 and 2005, 131 outpatients with moderate COPD in stable condition under maximum inhaled therapy underwent clinical interview, pulmonary function tests and HRCT imaging of the chest and were followed for at least 3 years.Twenty-six percent of patients had emphysema detected visually using HRCT. The FEV(1) decline was 42 ± 66 mL/y in the total sample, 88 ± 76 mL/y among rapid decliners and 6 ± 54 mL/y among the other patients. In the univariable analysis, the decline of FEV(1) was positively associated with pack-years (p0.05), emphysema at HRCT (p0.001), RV (p0.05), FRC (p0.05), FEV(1) (p0.01) at baseline and with number of hospitalizations per year (p0.05) during the follow-up. Using multivariable analysis, the presence of emphysema proved to be an independent prognostic factor of rapid decline (p = 0.001). When emphysema was replaced by RV, the model still remained significant.The rapid decline in lung function may be identified by the presence of emphysema at HRCT or increased RV in patients with a long smoking history

Tumor Immune Microenvironment and Genetic Alterations in Mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and fatal disease of the pleural lining. Up to 80% of the MPM cases are linked to asbestos exposure. Even though its use has been banned in the industrialized countries, the cases continue to increase. MPM is a lethal cancer, with very little survival improvements in the last years, mirroring very limited therapeutic advances. Platinum-based chemotherapy in combination with pemetrexed and surgery are the standard of care, but prognosis is still unacceptably poor with median overall survival of approximately 12 months. The genomic landscape of MPM has been widely characterized showing a low mutational burden and the impairment of tumor suppressor genes. Among them, BAP1 and BLM are present as a germline inactivation in a small subset of patients and increases predisposition to tumorigenesis. Other studies have demonstrated a high frequency of mutations in DNA repair genes. Many therapy approaches targeting these alterations have emerged and are under evaluation in the clinic. High-throughput technologies have allowed the detection of more complex molecular events, like chromotripsis and revealed different transcriptional programs for each histological subtype. Transcriptional analysis has also paved the way to the study of tumor-infiltrating cells, thus shedding lights on the crosstalk between tumor cells and the microenvironment. The tumor microenvironment of MPM is indeed crucial for the pathogenesis and outcome of this disease; it is characterized by an inflammatory response to asbestos exposure, involving a variety of chemokines and suppressive immune cells such as M2-like macrophages and regulatory T cells. Another important feature of MPM is the dysregulation of microRNA expression, being frequently linked to cancer development and drug resistance. This review will give a detailed overview of all the above mentioned features of MPM in order to improve the understanding of this disease and the development of new therapeutic strategies